A disruptive model of collaboration: Making space for activism within the academy

How can activist–academic partnerships act as ‘institutionalised irritants’—creating generative spaces of friction, disruption and care both within and beyond the university?

This small group discussion draws on the Activist-in-Residence programme at King’s College London, using short case-study prompts to explore how embedded collaborations unsettle fixed roles, surface institutional tensions and reconfigure what inclusion can mean in practice. Through facilitated table conversations, participants will encounter a range of perspectives and ideas about power, legitimacy and co-creation, and consider how activist presence reshapes institutional cultures.